Telenor improves 3G coverage in Copenhagen; reveals new brand NU

Telenor Denmark, the local unit of Norwegian telecoms group Telenor, has improved its 3G coverage in the cities of Copenhagen and Odense, after the number of base transceiver stations (BTS) in the area more than doubled from 45 to 95. The next stage of the expansion project is due to start next week, and will see the improvement of 3G coverage on Funen, the third largest island in Denmark. When the 3G merger is complete (April 2014), Telenor will have 3,900 3G BTS covering 99% of the Danish population, compared to 2,400 before the infrastructure sharing agreement began.

Further, the company has also announced that its 3G/4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) networks will be marketed under the brand ‘NU’ (Now). Telenor’s 4G network is currently available in 192 cities across Denmark, equivalent to 75% population coverage.

According to TeleGeography’s GlobalComms Database, Telenor was the last network operator to launch LTE services in Denmark, having rolled out its commercial 1800MHz/2600MHz network in March 2013. A network sharing agreement with Telia enabled the telco to launch its 4G services with initial population coverage of 75%, giving it a competitive advantage over rivals TDC and Hi3G, the 4G footprints of which extended to around 40% and 60% of Danes at that date, respectively.